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NEWS BRIEFS Sutter RNs Strike for Sixth Time CALIFORNIA O n nov. 1, Sutter Health RNs at seven hospitals at four medical centers in the San Francisco Bay Area went on a one-day strike for the sixth time in their push to secure a fair contract for RNs and maintain safety standards for patients. Nurses have been stepping up their ���ght against Sutter by calling strikes in conjunction with other actions, as the hospital chain continues to demand deep, unprecedented concessions from its nurse workforce. The strike involved about 3,200 RNs as well as several hundred respiratory, X-ray, and other technicians. ���We can see that pressure does work, and it���s going to take even more pressure,��� said Elena Ballock, an emergency room RN at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley and member of the bargaining committee. ���It���s really important now to be even more organized and to kick it up a notch.��� Sutter has proposed more than 100 takeaways in patient care conditions, RN standards, and workplace rights, including stripping part-time nurses of health benefits, attacking RN professional standards such as continuing education, and undermining union principles such as seniority. Many of the provisions were hard won by nurses over many contract negotiations and have been in place for decades. Giving into Sutter is widely considered to be a regression in the nursing 4 N AT I O N A L N U R S E profession and standards which could not be recouped for generations. ���We have been in negotiations going on 18 months and during this time hospital management has repeatedly misrepresented us as nurses and has shown a lack of respect for the hardworking women and men who are the backbone of our hospital,��� said Ann Gaebler, an Alta Bates RN. ���As staff nurses, we have a responsibility to ���ght to maintain standards of care for our patients.��� RNs are also protesting widespread cuts in patient care services. Despite posting nearly $4.2 billion in pro���ts since 2005 and paying dozens of top executives, including CEO Pat Fry, compensation packages worth millions of dollars, Sutter across Northern California has cut back on or eliminated many services, such as pediatrics, skilled nursing, psychiatric units, dialysis, infusion therapy, sub-acute units, and cardiac cath labs, as well as cutting off services such as mammogram screenings and bone marrow transplants. The corporation is also currently building a massive, 300,000-square foot administrative of���ce in Roseville and spending tens of millions of dollars on a questionable computerized electronic medical records system. A settlement is possible, as RNs point to recent agreements reached quickly at Sutter facilities in San Mateo and Burlingame, Santa Rosa, Lakeside, Santa Cruz, Roseville, and Auburn after hospital management withdrew their demands for concessions. ���What they���re trying to do is going to set us back 20 years if they win this ���ght,��� said Bob Auen, an intensive care unit RN at Eden. ���This strike is not just for us, but the entire nursing community. We have worked hard for the standards that we have. Don���t let anyone tell you that you don���t deserve it. You deserve it!��� ���Staff report Clockwise from top left: RNs at Alta Bates Summit during a strike rally; RNs at Sutter Delta show their strike spirit; RNs at Sutter Solano on the picket line. W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G NOVEMBER 2012